Glen is a joy to teach; I cover so much content with him. Today we started with a phonological awareness exercise, level J7. He then sorted Alpha Chips in alphabetical order in 45 seconds (goal under a minute). I showed the sound deck of 30 letters; Glen voiced all known sounds. Of interest to him was "ea" (which can be a /long e/ as in "eat", /short e/ as in "bread", and /long a/ as in "steak" and "y" (which can be /long e/ as in "baby", /long i/ as in "cry", and /short i/ as in "gym". I then gave him ten words to syllabicate, including closed, open, silent E, and vowel team syllables. I reviewed the FF LL SS ZZ spelling rule, which is a solid skill for Glen. We played a game of sight word Jenga with 100+ Fry words (most common sight words). We concluded the session with Glen reading an article aloud about magnetic fields. I need to challenge Glen with more rigorous science and math articles. Great work today!
Assignment
none
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
He's a terrific kid. I think he has a photographic memory. I got the impression that things are hard at home (comments from mom and Glen). I like this family, and if my OG rate is hard for them, I am happy to work at regular prices. I do not say that lightly. I would prefer to work with Audrey and Glen and drop Xavier given a choice.
I began with the phonological awareness drill; Glen does well at level J. I then asked Glen to sequence Alpha Chips; he improved his time from 1 minute 45 seconds to 46 seconds which is remarkable! (This exercise improves sequencing speed and fluency). I went through the sound deck (30 cards with letters, digraphs, and blends) and asked Glen to voice each sound. He then wrote 15 letters given the sound, many with multiple letters (for example, the sound /f/ can be expressed as f, ff, and ph). I reviewed the sight words who, what, where, when, how. We then played a great round of sight words Jenga (the game Jenga with 108 "sight words" drawn from the Frye word list of common words). Glen finished the session decoding closed and open syllable, multisyllabic words by dividing the syllables. Great job today!!
Assignment
none
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Great kid! I finally read through his assessment information from session 1. His comprehension is at grade 5, his fluency and rate are more grade 3-4. I am thrilled that he writes cursive beautifully and encouraged him (and his mom) to have him write cursive exclusively if possible. I think that patient review of syllable types and just practice with text of interest will bring him up to speed. His mom reports that his spelling tests have improved. I'm looking forward to assessing his sister Audrey next week.
It was great to see Glen today; he is so bright and funny. I began the session with an oral phonological awareness drill while he drew a picture on the dry erase board. He then sequenced Alpha Chips (timed) and voiced letter sounds. I reviewed "r controlled syllables" (er, ir, and ur) and played a game of SLAP! with example words. Glen then read an article about Pearl Harbor (5th grade level) with good fluency. I reviewed the ph and ck digraphs which are solid concepts for Glen.
Assignment
none
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
In general Glenn is really strong. I did notice that he is not totally solid on open syllable words (he got tripped up with unfamiliar words like cocoa and microbe) so I will review that. In spelling his vowel teams are a little garbled so I will review that too. Sweet kid.
I continued to assess Glen, completing the DPST spelling test and the Gray Oral Reading Fluency test. We then accomplished the following Orton Gillingham exercises: Alpha Chip sequencing, phonological awareness, and sound deck. After I score the assessments I will have an idea of our game plan. Glen is creative and analytical, and I really enjoy working with him.
Assignment
none
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
What a bright kid! I am going have to think about how best to teach him.
I enjoyed meeting Glen and his nice family. The first part of the session was spent getting to know each other a little bit as Glen drew an amazing picture of a dragon. I then did a series of assessments, specifically the IOTA, Woodcock-Johnson, and a phonological awareness test. I also had him sequence "Alpha Chips" (basically poker chips with the letters of the alphabet on them). This activity strengthens sequencing and "rapid naming" skills. I timed the activity and Glen accomplished it in under 2 minutes. My goal over the next few sessions is figure out what Glen knows and where he might need help. Glen was very cooperative. I look forward to working with him this year!
Assignment
none
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
I haven't scored Glen's tests yet (I will wait until I finished administering them) so I don't really know what his weaknesses are. I have to say he is the most creative and inquisitive child I have taught so far. I think he would enjoy Greek mythology. I will bring in some books that I have from home.
Glen read an article about Pokemon Go. Then he drew a picture of how Pokemon Go has changed. He dictated a story to me about the changes to the new generations, the special events, and its compatibility.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Glen was highly motivated since with discussed a topic of interest to him.
Glen drew a story on the board.
Glen dictated his story for me to type.
I showed Glen videos of children's book illustrators drawing (Bruce Degen and Jim Davis).
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Glen loves to draw and is happy when I type his stories. I have trouble keeping up with him since his ideas flow so quickly.
Glen reread his last two stories, one was typed and one was dictated with a little of his writing.
Glen read an article about cloning.
Glen drew a picture related to the cloning article. Glen typed a story to go with the article and his picture.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Glen gets tired of writing and prefers typing. Even his typing does not keep up with his mind. I suggested that he could practice with a keyboarding program at home.
Glen read the story about his birthday that he had typed.
Glen made a picture on the board as his prewriting for his story about Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
I wrote some of what he dictated about the Wimpy Kid, and he wrote some.
Glen made the pictures on the pages to go with his story.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Glen did not want to write at all. Finally, I wrote some of what he dictated, and he wrote some. He said he wants to type, so we will do his next story on the computer.
